


Guardian Angel

by Nyxx_Phantom



Series: Guardian of the Genius [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Battle of New York (Marvel), Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Sokovia (Marvel), Sokovia Accords, Sorry Not Sorry, The Winter Soldier is a separate personality, Wakanda (Marvel), Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:27:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxx_Phantom/pseuds/Nyxx_Phantom
Summary: A one-shot idea that I'm trying to make into a book.*This is a random book based on my imagination of 'Wonder what would've happened if Tony had a friend who didn't turn their back on him (No offense to Rhodey and Pepper, but they did do that at least once).* This is also after I've watched all of the Iron man movies and Avenger movies including Civil War, Infinity War, and End Game.Eira (pronounced Air-ah or like Era) Roman is a 35-year-old woman who was taken by an unknown organization. She was injected with unknown substances and can appear before a man she doesn't know. Although she isn't exactly physically there, they can keep each other company.Yea, this description sucks but the book might be better?????The first chapter is the One-shot I wrote! The book actually begins in the second chapter!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark/Original Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark/Pepper Potts(past), Winter Soldier/Original Female Character(s), Winter Soldier/Tony Stark
Series: Guardian of the Genius [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178843
Comments: 9
Kudos: 26





	1. One-shot Idea = Book!

_Remember, this is just the one-shot version! The book itself doesn't begin until the second chapter! It's also severely unfinished, ending off at Iron Man 1 and just drifting off._

She's screaming, she knows this despite not hearing it; her head is ringing too loud for that. That's okay though because she's not in her cell anymore. She's in a cave, dark and cold but out of her cell. She can see with the help of the small light of a fire.

He doesn't notice her yet, has no idea she exists. _That's okay_ , she tells herself, _I don't think I exist either_. She watches him and his friend, her eyes adjust to the lighting easily. She's okay with this, living in a space no one else does. Watching people and all their faults without fear of being caught.

Until he looks at her, and she doesn't breathe. His friend is sleeping, but he frowns at her. He shakes his head in disbelief and lies down to sleep. She breathes out, happy that he thought she was his sleep-deprived imagination. Then she frowns, he shouldn't have seen her.

__________

The next time he sees her she frowns at him, unhappy that she was caught. He looks at her weird and blinks a few times. She is still there and she can see his eyes widen. Her frown deepens.

After days of watching each other, he tries to talk to her. She doesn't believe she exists, so she doesn't try to talk. He scowls at her then, and snubs her in retaliation. He stops when he realizes she wants him to ignore her. So he does the opposite.

__________

She's close to snapping at him, breaking her silence. She glares at him heatedly when he talks to her, hoping he'll leave her alone like his friend does. He doesn't. She's angry that he doesn't.

Weeks go by and she knows she's going soft. She isn't angry anymore, almost wants to talk. He sees it, and she know he sees it. He tries harder, she's at her end and he knows it.

__________

A month has passed and she breaks, her words are deafening to him. She tells him her name, he shares his. His name is Tony Stark, her name is no one special. He gives her nicknames instead, neither know her real name. She wonders why it bothers him, he wonders why she isn't.

They find out his friend can't see her, they are secretly relieved. They make sure the camera doesn't see his face when they talk, they make sure his friend won't wake at his voice. They are careful, they are scheming.

__________

She's trying to help him leave, he appreciates her efforts. She tries to get Intel by going through the door, she doesn't exist after all. She always comes back with little info, she's always disappointed. He's proud of her nonetheless, he tells her as much.

They realize that she can't go far from him, like she is tethered to him. She tried to get more from the men outside, she almost got more. She was rubber banded back to him, she was winded for a second. He tells her to stop, he doesn't want her hurt. She stops because he fears, she stops because he cares.

__________

They grow a bond, they got attached. She tells him all she knows, she doesn't know much. He tells her he'll try, he tells her he'll find her. She laughs as she tells him that she doesn't exist, he is hesitant to believe her.

She watches as he plans with Yinsen, she has a feeling he doesn't want to get out alive. She doesn't tell Tony this, she thinks it's for the best. She watches with calm eyes as Tony instructs him. She follows him when he tries to buy Tony time. She sees Tony relax as she does, she didn't want to remind him that she can't help if something goes wrong.

__________

Tony looks angry at his body, he looks angry at her. She takes his anger and makes it her own, reminding him the words of a ghost. _Don't waste it_. She feels better when he doesn't, she watches with glee as he lights the place up.

She feels the pain of being rubber-banded to him, she pretends not to notice how it makes him feel better. She walks with him for three days, he forgives her when he remembers. She tells him she's not bothered, she jokes how she could probably pass through the ground. His laughs are tight, it doesn't reach his eyes.

__________

They laugh for real when Rhodey finds him, they board the chopper with wide smiles. She watches Rhodey interact with Tony, Tony know she approves of him; oddly enough it makes him feel better, knowing his new friend likes his old one.

They know that Rhodey can't see her, she still laughs at his jokes. Tony feels at peace with this, he falls asleep quite quickly.

__________

When they land Tony sees Pepper, he sees Happy too. Tony is glad when his shadow quirks a smile at them, he comes up with a new nickname by accident.

She enjoys the show, he knows; laughs with glee as the room sits down with him. He feels better that she's there, confident with her support at his back.

__________

She looks weirdly at his godfather Obie, he tries not to be bothered. She said she has a feeling, he tells her nothing's wrong. She's hesitant to believe him.

She looks around in wonder of his home, takes an interest in JARVIS. She declares Jarvis her new favorite, they are surprised when Jarvis agrees. They test him on her with multiple things.

Jarvis can see her, but he can't at the same time. He sees her outline but not her features, she is baffled by his AI. Try as Tony might, he can't help but hope; she might exist after all, she still doesn't believe it.

__________

Jarvis knows what he needs, he is discreet when tracking down what he knows about her. They can't find a trace of her, but they don't give up hope. They never tell her of course, she'd tell them to stop.

She plays with the bots, they can see her too. She loves them, and they love her. Tony feels oddly happy, watching three robots chase a ball thrown by a ghost. Tony then realizes she threw the ball, Jarvis confirms it wasn't a hallucination.

__________

She freaks out when he messes with the arc reactor, almost panics when he tries to get Pepper to help him.

She will deny screaming when Pepper pulls out the magnet by accident, and she almost falls in relief when Tony manages to get the new arc reactor in.

__________

She feels happy when Tony sees Rhodey, she's laughing as he teases. She's angry when they leave, she thought he was a friend; Tony did too, neither say a thing about it.

She makes sure he knows she's onboard, she'll be with him on whatever project it is. He doesn't smile, but she's sure his eyes lighten just a little.

She's confused when they start working, she's a little worried when Tony puts the project on his private servers with the warning of not knowing who to trust at the moment. 

So she tried to put her hand on his shoulder, it doesn't work; to her reemerged disappointment she remembers she doesn't exist in the physical world, but she sees his shoulders loosen just a little.

__________

She watches Tony make a new armor, she doesn't tell him not to. He takes it as encouragement, she takes it as his way to cope. He is delighted at its improvements, she is just happy he's okay.

She laughs as he tries to fly, he laughs when she wheezes. She nicknames Tony's eldest as Dum dum, and teaches him to foam Tony with the fire extinguisher. Tony seems to regret giving it to them.

She's unconcerned when he threatens them, it's only playful after all. He can't ghost buster her 'whatever that is', and he won't sell Dum dum anyway.

__________

She laughs as he gets blasted back when messing with the blaster, laughs harder at Peppers' reaction to him too. 

She's almost growling when both Pepper and Obadiah corner him upstairs. She said he doesn't have to listen to the board, the board didn't see the horrors that they did.

She ends up knocking something over by accident in her anger. She's stunned for a moment before fleeing to the workshop.

Pepper thinks she had done it herself and was quick to clean it up after apologizing. Tony mulls over how she interacts with things, he has hope where she has none.

__________

He sees her smiling again when they test the boot and palm blasters, he's making empty threats at them again. He fake grumbles at them when the test is over, his mumbles of "Spontaneous Combustion" earns him a playful grin and an innocent beep.

He doesn't fool her though, she sees his lips twitch into a smile for a second. She's oddly proud when he declares that he can fly.

__________

Tony is connecting Jarvis to the suit when he gets an idea, he knows she won't like it and he wonders how it'll work. She freaks out when he tells them "Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk".

He's upset about his car, and expects to hear her laughing at him when Dummy sprays him. He panics when he can't find her.

__________

She disappears for the entire night, he worries that he hurt her; wonders if she was rubber-banded somewhere and is stuck. He tosses and turns later when he's stayed up for too long, his guilt keeps him company for the night in his bed.

__________

She comes back a few days later with something on her back, he blinks at the wings she grew. She looks exhausted with purple bags hanging under her eyes, she says she can't remember the night he flew.

He's scared now, he thinks he did something to her. She tells him he didn't, that it was someone else. They took her somewhere and injected her with things, she tells him her memory is wonky since the chair.

She can't tell him what chair she means, she forgot it already; what she does tell him is that it hurts like electricity, he feels a horrible chill crawling up his spine when she mentions it.

__________

She's worried about his injuries despite her own disappearance. She smiles at Pepper's present, says he needs to keep it.

Her brows are furrowed when Tony isn't invited to his own event, and gets exasperated when he decides to go.

She's very wary of Obie when he sees Tony, she tries to give Tony and Pepper some privacy on the dancefloor.

She and Tony are alerted by the woman Christine when she mentioned Gulmira. Tony is beyond pissed about Obadiah dealing under the table, his anger doesn't leave him for a while.

__________

He's messing with his mask while she's opening her wings behind him. She doesn't try to fly yet, she's trying to get a feeling for them. They twitch a little, but she manages to open them.

They are oddly sore, the muscles of her wings are unused to any movement. Her groan catches his attention, he remembers his promise to find her.

It takes her a few days but she almost gets off the ground, he tries to hover by her with his blasters as encouragement.

__________

The TV is on with the news as Tony fiddles with an arm blaster, he's mumbling things as he twists the screwdriver. She wonders what he's saying, but their attention is turned to the TV when Gulmira is mentioned.

Tony's anger lashes out as he aims a blaster at the dangling lights, and then he blasts his reflection in the glass. She tries to talk to him but he's too wound up in self hatred and anger.

__________

He puts on the suit with the help of U, Butterfingers, and Dum-e. She tries to stretch her wings out, preparing to fly with him. His face is set into a frown as he quickens his pace, she flaps hard enough to fly with him and she struggles by the hours.

She gets tired quickly and worries that she'll fall, he slows his pace just a bit but she's grateful all the same.

They make it in time to stop a man from being killed, and she doesn't feel bad when they leave the last man for the innocent people to have.

__________

They have fun on the way back, adrenaline fuels them to do barrel rolls and little tricks. She's laughing with him until two fighter jets pull up beside them. She panics when he has to blast off, fully prepared to be flung with him.

Her fear worsens when he has to hide under the belly of one of the jets, she can hear him talking to Rhodey. She's struggling to keep up with them, she isn't used to flying.

He sees her struggling but can't help as he's suddenly thrown from the jets belly, taking it down with him. 

Everyone enters a frenzy as chaos ensues. She's trying to help despite going through things as a ghost would, he's trying to help the pilot free his parachute, the pilot is panicking as continues to fall, and the other jet is taking aim at Tony. Thankfully they both escape with the chute open for the army to see. 

__________

She almost collapses when they get back home. He can't catch her but he does ask her if she's okay. All she can do is give him a tired smile before passing out on the workshop couch. 

He occupies himself with getting the armor off until Pepper walks in and they have a small argument. He hopes she doesn't wake up for it, he's relieved that she's still sleeping.

__________

He has another argument with Pepper, his shadow is sulking in the background wishing she could carry out the task needed. Pepper eventually agrees to do it, and Tony is hoping she gets out okay.

He spends the rest of the day watching her play with the bots, quietly asking Jarvis if he found her yet. Jarvis can't fully see her face which means he is struggling to get a face match. Tony holds out hope that maybe he can still find here.

So Tony starts drawing her face on a hologram, it takes him a bit but it's easier the longer he draws. Jarvis takes it and runs it through facial recognition all around the world for missing people in the last few years, Tony doesn't say anything more but smiling at her and his bots.

__________

She's sitting with the bots when she feels a creeping suspicion that something was wrong. She flew through the floors and found Tony sitting back on the couch with Obadiah talking to him. Tony isn't moving, and Obadiah is holding the reactor; she's angry that she can't do anything, she's begging for him to move.

__________

She sits by him and cries because she can't help him, apologizing as she repeatedly tries to grab his arm or hold his face. She's screaming for Jarvis to get help, but no one comes and she feels completely alone.

__________

Tony somehow manages to get to his feet, he's pale and shaky. The ride down to the shop felt like forever, and when the finally get there he can't stay upright for much longer.

She can't catch him and she can't pick up the old reactor that Pepper gave him, she tries with all she has but nothing is working. Dummy sees her panic and how Tony is hurting, so he does the only thing he can.

Tony has never been more thankful in that moment for his oldest creation, she cries in relief.

__________

Rhodey shows up later with a wild look in his eyes, he panics when he sees Tony face down on the shop floor. 

Tony shoots up with a gasp, and is quick to go fight Obadiah despite her words. She's worried though, and he tries to reassure her on the way to the building.

__________

She stays with Pepper, and god does she hate it. She doesn't hate Pepper, she hates that she can't help Tony. So she stays with Pepper, even though she knows she can't do anything to help.

She watches and listens as a spectator, keeping the living company as they rush to stop a warmonger. She screams when Tony tells Pepper to push the button, he tells her he's sorry.

She knew he was talking to them both, saying sorry to them. Pepper ran out but she had stayed, she flew up and kept herself close in what they believed was his final moments. A bright light and a loud bang. A ghostly form and a still mans body.

__________

She hit him, when he got up. She didn't know how she did, but she boxed his ears. He sat there stunned, and when he laughed she joined too.

He was alive, the bastard didn't die. She was overjoyed, her tears were evident. He didn't say a word, just smiled softly as she wiped below her eyes.

__________

She grinned at him when he told the world who he was, Iron Man. In the quiet home he thanked her, she didn't understand why he thanked her for being a decent friend.

He checked on the bots and put Jarvis back online, surprised when he saw a name on the screen. Eira Roman, a girl who went missing nearly 20 years ago. His breath is caught in his throat for a moment. A wide and genuine smile stretched across his face before he went to go find her, the name Eira just on his tongue. When he found her gazing at the night sky he said her name, watching her as she seemed to stiffen with a confused look on her face. Only to see her own face as he held up his phone, their eyes met and the journey to find her truly began.

_The End?_


	2. Chapter 2

There's a sound echoing off the grimy, sullen, gray walls of this prison cell she called home. She hears it from down the hallway that is shrouded in darkness. Her bed creaks as she lifts herself onto her elbows. Someone is screaming, most likely in pain. She can sympathize with them. This place is horrid. Walls full of monstrous men and women who deceive, mutilate and exterminate. There is no escape, none that she could find. She has lived here for years, brutally trained in various forms of fighting. She would guess that she'd been stuck here for over 15 years.

They made her fight, learn languages, and had tried to bend her morals, if not shatter them. They tried to sweet-talk her into obeying them, but she always refused. She was not a dog to sit or heel when they called. She knew that soon they would take her to be " _modified"_ by theirdoctors. She was on edge nowadays, waiting with dread as they passed her cell door. She had seen them haul people to the lab once, a few of the people never came back out. When some of them did come back out, they were never the same. Some changed physically, while others changed mentally. She wondered for a brief moment what would happen to her. Would she live or die during her modifications?

Before her thoughts continued down that dark path of survival chances, a guard came to her cell door. He grabbed her arm forcefully and dragged her to that dreaded door. When the guard shoved her through, she met with a strong scent of chlorine and cleaning supplies. She felt sick just from being in the room. A man in a lab coat walked gestured for the guard to put her on the table. She struggled against the grip until another guard she didn't see had also grabbed her. Her heart started pounding faster than before as they strapped her down. She saw a camera pointing down at her from the ceiling, past the bright lights that were blinding. She grew wary as another doctor held a shot filled with a yellow substance. He gave her a fake smile before jabbing it into her arm, and all she saw was black.

She could no longer see and felt like her body was burning from the inside out. She was screaming, or at least she thought she was. It was hard to tell because her senses seemed to be blocked. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel, and couldn't even feel anything. Almost as if her body went into some form of blackout mode. It felt like she'd been in limbo until she noticed a difference, something she could sense. Slowly, her eyes opened up, streaks of light blurred across her vision. She could see a wall of glass in front of her. The walls around her were white padded, with a glass door off to the side. She was in a containment cell because she lived past the injection of her modification.

Peering out from her glass wall, she could see a bunch of people in lab coats. They were bustling around with needles and samples of unknown liquids. Fear gripped her the longer she watched them move around, uncaring about what it was they were doing to her and other people. She recognized the one doctor who gave her what she'd assumed was her modifications. She slowly sat back into a corner of her glass cage as she continued to watch them. Sleep did not come easy to her as the days following were marked with stress and worry. Sometimes the doctors would tease her by stopping in front of her cage, pretending they'd go to enter. She hated them, and she hated this place. She'd cry herself to sleep when she believed herself to be alone in that cold room. Sometimes she wouldn't sleep at all.

Eventually, they sedated her to take her back to her room. When she gained consciousness, she felt better. Her body throbbed, but she felt safer in her room than she did in that cage. However, she would lose track of days. Blacking out was her new best friend, as she did it often enough. She'd wake up to know days had passed but no memory. The guards who would bring her food made comments and bets on her death, whispering that the doctors let her go too soon. She began to believe their words, counting out the days she'd been alive since the _modification_ visit. Over two weeks had passed, she started to hope. At the one-month mark, she figured she'd be okay.

She was very wrong at the assumption, however. Her blackouts were becoming daily, at odd times. Ultimately, the black would fade to a dark orange hue. In those flashes, she would inhale air hotter than the cold air she ordinarily would. She would notice rocks and sense sand underneath her. She was left disoriented and scrambled on the floor of what she would presume was a cave. Sometimes, she would hear the whispers of a man or two. If she was lucky, she could see them. One seemed older, wearing glasses and holding a kind air about him. The other was younger, goatee on his face and bandages on his chest.

The flashes never lasted long enough to see if she could talk to them. They never seemed to notice her even when she could see them. She wondered who they were and why she's seeing them. There were times she believed them to be her imagination, delusions. It wasn't long before she could stay there for about a minute. She had tried to talk to them, but it was almost like they couldn't see her. For a while, she believed herself to be dead, and the modifications had killed her after all. That was until she woke back up in her cell. She then began to believe them to be odd dreams. Later, she began to spend more time in the cave and began to be seen by the very man who intrigued her the most.


End file.
